#writingprompt

From the sunburned sidewalk to the ultra-cool of the air-conditioned mall, Sandy knew the chill she felt could be natural. Still, she noticed tension in the eyes of the parents at the play area, in the way one teen girl shepherded her little sister towards the open door of an old lady's handbag store. With her danger sense hitting her hard, Sandy ....

#writingprompt

Trixie climbed out onto the roof from the attic window with her super-cape wrapped around her shoulders. Placing her feet carefully on the roof shingles, she ...

#writingprompt

When his mom "accidentally" bumped open his door with the vacuum cleaner, Dustin decided he should get out of bed before she "asked" him to help with any of his brother's leftover chores. He really wished ...

Three days and an apocalypse later ... #writing #publication

Mostly joking about the title up there. Life has been roller-coastering, per usual, but I'm healthier these days so that's good.

I had a publication three days ago at The Drabble and I just realized it.

Check out: "Post-Apocalyptic Gardener" for a fast, free read. Votes are greatly appreciated!

#writingprompt

When ladybugs invaded our home that summer, I never expected to ...

#writingprompt

She felt guilty wasting the summer sunshine, but she ducked into the library to find ...

#writingprompt

When my dragon ate my homework, I knew my professor wouldn't be pleased but I never expected him to ...

#writingprompt

Under the bridge in the cool shade, he discovered ...

#writingprompt

The water fight revealed more than wet t-shirts, it showed us ...

#writingprompt

The rumbling buzz of a plane overhead turned heads and made the conversation stop. Why was the pilot flying so low?

#writingprompt

The cardboard carcasses of old fireworks washed up onto the beach after the fourth of July, and they reminded her of ...

#writingprompt

His dog went missing on the fourth of July and he had to get her back or ...

#IWSG July 2017

Started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, this sweet hop has encouraged me many times over 

and I'm thankful for it!

Join Here

IWSG News!

IWSG Named One of Reader's Digest Top 101 Websites for Writers!

#IWSGPit Twitter Pitch is coming July 27th!

Submissions are Open for the IWSG Guide to Writing for Profit

Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life is Available! IWSG Anthology

IWSG July Optional Question: What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?

There are many things, but to tie in with last month's question my answer is going to rely on three famous movie quotes.

"Never Give Up!

Never Surrender!"

"Do or Do Not. There is no Try."

"Just Keep Swimming."

Writing is its own reward. Just writing, just continuing to write, refusing to give up when things get hard, and writing beyond the "try" stage are all part of the continuance of the dream that gets real when the pen hits the paper or the fingers hit the keyboard.

On a separate note, my insecurity this month (other than the usual ups and downs of writing) is that I seem to have lost my ability to post pictures on my blog, which is frustrating, and I am having a bit of a mild stalker issue as well as repeated notifications that someone is trying to hack the account on another social media platform (okay, not sure it's stalking, but it's odd behavior, so I am changing some things in my social media practices). So, basically, even after eight years of using various forms of social media, I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing. However, I'm going to just keep swimming - maybe in a different stretch of the ocean or with a few different strokes - from forward crawl to breastroke - but I'm going to keep going. I'll keep everyone notified of any changes here ... probably next month or September. 

BTW - I had a super short publication on July 3rd at A Story in 100 Words. "At the Lake" is ... I guess angsty romance? Does that mean I write romance now? I don't know. It's something different for me, anyway.

Happy 4th of July and Independence Day!!!

#writingprompt

July 3rd is a day we'll never forget because that's the day we ...


Or ...

Under the boom and glow of fireworks, we ...


Happy Independence Day!

(What does it mean to be independent as a nation, an individual, or ...?)

Do You Have Goals? July 2017 Update

This awesome, encouraging hop was created by Misha!

Reporting on June

June Goals: 
1. Heal, renew, walk, and take tiny bike rides. - I walked, healed, and rested.

2. Continue to Market Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life and other works. Some, yes, mainly through hootsuite.

3.  Watch my oldest graduate. Have a party! Celebrate! - Definitely did this!!!

4. Go to a Montana State University Registration and Orientation session with my oldest daughter. - Yes!

5. Watch both daughters race at the Ted Houk Regatta in Seattle. - Yes!

6. Clean up the yard and house. (as able) - Yes!

7. Go barefoot. Some.

8. Continue working on The Greenling Chronicles. -YES.

9. Keep reading Cling to God. - Yes!

10. Sort through job and teaching stuff. Prepare for next fall. - A tiny amount.

11. Practice Storytelling. - only once.

July Goals

1. Finish Eclipse: Greenling Chronicles Book 1.

2. Continue marketing efforts with hootsuite.

3. Make some social media changes. (Will report more fully next month.)

4. Keep house clean, more yardwork (as physically able). 

5. Scrapbook/photo project.

6. Encourage family and friends.

7. Practice Storytelling.

8. Write all ideas down for school prep in the fall, but no major work allowed on this. (15 per day, tops)

9. Get outside!

10. Walk, hike, bike, kayak? More exercise and fewer carbs.

11. Continue super short writing prompt posts.

12. Continued Bible Study and reading Cling to God.

How are you doing on your goals this month?

Writing Prompt: If the villain/antagonist of your story created a "honey do" list, what would be on it? Does your villain/antagonist have a significant other?

#writingprompt

In the cool shade of the trees, we ...

#writingprompt

She dug into the sand, from the hot top layer to the lower cool dampness. There, she found ...

#writingprompt

The graduates threw their caps in the air ... well, all except for one graduate who ...

#writingprompt

At the family barbecue, Uncle Joey roasted mystery meat. We were too afraid to ask him what it was, so we ...



BTW - I had a drabble of fiction published at Friday Flash Fiction last week!
"Old Roses and Failing Eyesight" 

#writingprompt

The first day he swam to the dock that summer, he noticed ...

#writingprompt

Sitting in the sun with her friends at the lake, she hoped that ...

#writingprompt

The first day she went barefoot that summer, she ....

#writingprompt

the tire-swing sits empty now, but I remember when ...

#writingprompt

One time, when my cousins and I were playing pretend Star Wars in our grandpa's barn, we ...

#writingprompt

Write about an ulikely group of friends making dandelion necklaces.


Kickstart your summer writing with free prompts found on my blog throughout the summer or pick up a free copy of A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts this week (only) at Smashwords with the coupon code: BE23A

Smashwords Link (Remember to use the coupon code!)

Coupon is good thorugh the 16th!

#writingprompt

From morning to night, we spent all day outside in the summer until ....



Kickstart your summer writing with free prompts found on my blog throughout the summer or pick up a free copy of A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts this week (only) at Smashwords with the coupon code: BE23A

Smashwords Link (Remember to use the coupon code!)

Coupon is good thorugh the 16th!

#writingprompt

What happened at the car wash last summer?

Imagine a scene at a car wash where something unexpected/different/noteworthy happens.



Kickstart your summer writing with free prompts found on my blog throughout the summer or pick up a free copy of A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts this week (only) at Smashwords with the coupon code: BE23A

Smashwords Link (Remember to use the coupon code!)

Coupon is good thorugh the 16th!

#Writingprompt Unexpected Item on a Bucket List #FREE #writingprompt

Create a bucket list for the main character of your story. Include something unexpected.

Kickstart your summer writing with free prompts found on my blog throughout the summer or pick up a free copy of A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts this week (only) at Smashwords with the coupon code: BE23A

Smashwords Link (Remember to use the coupon code!)

Coupon is good thorugh the 16th!

Kickstart Your Summer Writing with #FREE Prompts

I'm kickstarting my summer writing projects today and want to encourage all writers to kickstart their own summer writing goals!

To do this, I'll be doing two things:

I'll post simple writing prompts here at least four days a week for most of the summer, starting today. So, stop by and grab a prompt each day. Comments aren't necessary for blogging politeness with these super short posts, just grab a prompt and run with it!

For this week only, I've generated a 100% off coupon at Smashwords for A Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts. Coupon code: BE23A 

Smashwords Link (Remember to use the coupon code!)

The coupon is good through Friday.



Today's prompt: If you're main character of your WIP, or a new character you just met in your imagination, were to take a journey, what would he/she pack? And, how would he/she travel?

Good News!

The results are in - I don't have breast cancer!!!

Woohoo!!! Praise God!

#IWSG JUNE - "I Quit," Double Graduation, and Summer Schedule

A database resource site and support group for writers and authors. Featuring weekly guests and tips, a monthly blogfest gathering hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosts: , a Facebook group, a book club, and thousands of links – all to benefit writers! #IWSG

Website / Facebook Group / Twitter / Book Club

OPTIONAL June 7th IWSG Day Question: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

Yes.

I've said "I quit" more than once.

• When a "friend" shared one of my short stories without my permission ... I quit sharing and I quit writing for a while. 
• I quit when I couldn't seem to concentrate long enough to write more than 15 minutes at a time when my children were toddler and pre-school age (I truly appreciated If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin - those books represent early motherhood to me - all the joy and all the messes.)
• I quit for three months at a time when I waited for magazine editors to respond to some of my early short stories - "Dragonfold" and "The Crystal Sword."
• I quit for a few weeks in 2015 after a particularly bad book fair - rain all day, books dropped in mud, when painful social anxiety had me huddled in a corner and I couldn't seem to shake it off and I was landed between an ultra religious group that chased people down with their flyers and a young man who self-published his book in found materials that he bound together himself. That particular day, I was told that I "really should write about dragons." That I "had obviously stolen" my author name (it's my real name). That I "shouldn't write Christian fantasy" (once from a fantasy reader and once from a Christian who abhors fantasy). I know I wasn't the only one having a bad day - the lady across from me cried on her husband's shoulder after someone said something rude about her poetry books. (I bought one a few hours later and it was good.) I'm not sure I'll ever attend that fair again since it seemed to be occupied by trolls - or maybe it was just a bad year.
• I almost quit last year after I had invested time into a new novel project that died a slow, painful, plot-plodding death and I felt like all my marketing efforts were worthless.
• This year I almost quit during the first waiting part between my first biopsy and the first results. (This week, I'm on my fourth biopsy of the year for a new health concern - it's getting to be a new normal.) Good News as of Thursday - I don't have breast cancer!!!

So, what made me come back?

• I'm stubborn, hard-headed, and determined.
• I like to play with words and now and then in my hardest moments, I find it ironic that I've had poetry published when it's my "go-to" for my off writing days, but that irony keeps driving me forward as much as the fun I have with poetry writing. (And I have gratitudefor a particular 10th grade writing teacher who told me to give poetry a chance - Thank you, Mrs. Bee Evans.)
• I daydream stories all the time and I love writing them down.
• I write because it helps me process my thoughts, my emotions, my faith, and all my crazy ideas.
• I came back because I want my daughters to know that it's worthwhile to work hard at a dream, even if it isn't a financially successful dream (yet). 
• I came back because I refuse to let fear to conquer me.
• I came back because of the awesome encouragement I receive from family, friends, and IWSG.

BTW - "Dragonfold" found a home at Mindflights in 2009 and "The Crystal Sword" became my first self-published novel Champion in the Darkness in 2013.

Double Graduation?
Is it possible to graduate twice from high school?
Yes, it is - if a student is a home-schooler in Washington State and attends Running Start classes at a local community college.
My oldest went to her first graduation ceremony at Harbor Christian Homeschool Cooperative on Saturday, June 3rd. (She's in the center of the top pick in this photo collage):

Earlier that day, she walked in the Gig Harbor Maritime Parade and that night she went to Senior Prom hosted by the high school with friends:

Anna is in the black skirt.

The next day, she helped lead Youth Sunday Worship at our church - which included roles for every young person in worship, in the short film that we created "High School Parable," in a presentation of a Veggie Tales story, and in a beatifully choreographed dance about the Prodigal Son. The worship ended with an amazing gift of encouragement for all of the high school seniors in words, prayer, and gifts of Bibles which had been highlighted by members of our church with notes and prayers. Of course, the only photo I took comes from a goofing off moment of worship rehearsal before everything started:

It was a jam-packed weekend. 

In two weeks, she'll graduate from Tacoma Community College with a general associates degree and another high school diploma  (this one from an accredited insitution and not just "mom").


So ... I'm headed into my Summer Schedule early.
But, what does that mean this year?
IWSG - first Wed
Goals Hop - last Friday
Potentially a fair number of extremely short writing prompt posts with some off weeks/moments. I won't expect or hope for comments on these, but I plan to put them out there in the hopes that they will be "of service" to my fellow writers.

Hootsuite will have tweets, google+, and facebook author posts on auto-pilot most days.

Have you ever "quit" writing for a while? How do you celebrate the end of the school year? And, do you have a summer schedule?

Wandering and a Late Interview Link with #CarolinaReads

Inspired by Jen Chandler's posts on Wandering with Intent, I've decided to do some of my own purposeful wanderings and possibly post about them. If you don't know Jen, check out her blog and/or read her story "Mysteries of Death and Life" in Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life.

To preface this, I am not wandering far these days since although my official intense recovery time is over from my second surgery this year, the doctor told me that I could expect another six months of slow-going until I get to full recovery. I'm only walking up to 2 miles on a "big" day so the walks aren't super long or strenuous. These images are from Penrose State Park (Washington - on the Peninsula):

I love the doorway appeal of the branches arching over the end of the trail to the sea.

I didn't actually hike the trail the first time I went, but I did the second time. Either way, I find trails leading off into the woods a great inspiration for stories.

Here's another view of those arching tree branches, but from farther back.

I thought this shell looked like a hand in skeletal form. My daughter thought it looked like a skull. What do you think it looks like?

The reflection ... 

The crane kept teasing me and I tried to get a closer image by zooming in my phone camera - which is far from a great camera.

Looking down fencelines is interesting. I feel like there's a story in these lines that lead into a horizon. Plus, fencelines always seem to have some kind of story behind them. I wondered why this one was even there other than for decorative purposes because the park extends beyond it on both sides. I guess it is near the walking trail that leads to the shore and beyond it is a bit of shoreline with a 4-5 foot drop off to the shoreline. Maybe it's for decorative safety?

Reflections

The one bit of "hike" I did on my first walk. This literally ended just five feet further around the bend.

What do you think is around the bend?

I wanted to capture the young Pacific Madrone tree (with reddish bark) also called a Madrona tree by many in the area. The Pacific Madrone is declining so it's always nice to see a young one. (We have an older one in our yard.)

The birds had breakfast before I arrived. Many clam shells littered the gravel beach.

There is something about the edge where the land meets the sea that has always struck a chord in my imagination.

Have you wandered lately? Have you ever wandered with intent?

Get any story ideas from these images?

I admit, my main intent was to get outside, get fresh air, and see a different place.

I seem to need a jolt of fresh air to find creative inspiration.

Plus, in places like Penrose State Park, I can see the amazing wonder of God's creation and just feel blessed to be able to experience the outdoors. (And, it was easy - near where I was that day and with a parking lot near the shoreline. I was only there for forty minutes and it felt like my whole day was filled with beauty.)

And, I have a late link to an interview at #Carolinareads last week - somehow, I missed it even with it on my calendar so I feel like I have egg on my face. If you could stop by and give Terri some love, or go check out my post a week late, that would be awesome. Plus, she has an ongoing interview feature that I highly recommend checking out!

Tyrean reads .... #CarolinaReads hosted by Terri A. Wilson


And - I hope you all had a Blessed Memorial Day! Here's a tiny image-poem I wrote on that subject last year:
The wind rolls out our flag’s colors
then stills
red lines dripping down

Whenever I think of Memorial Day, I hear flags snapping in the wind and see rain clouds parted by sun because for many Memorial Days I visited my Grandpa's grave in the windy little town where I grew up. We didn't celebrate it "right" according to all the experts - my Grandpa was technically a veteran who joined the US Army to gain American citezenship. He became a sargeant in the calvary and then a tank mechanic during WWII. He lived a full life and did not die serving during war-time, but I (unlike those who are sticklers for the rules of all things) have always taken time to remember him and all those who have served on Memorial Day, even though I know it's meant only for those who have died overseas during active service. I think it's sad that legalists have decided to make Memorial Day unaccessible for all others. I remember when we used to meet at the cemetary for a service that included everyone - all the graves (even non-military ones) were covered in flowers - and the military service members didn't seem to mind that. What's happened that to make us so legalistic in all things?

Goals Update, Hero Lost, and Spoonman

It's sad, but I had to go back to the end of April to look for my May goals. Sheesh. It's kind of hard to actually do goals when I don't keep them in front of me. Thankfully, I started looking at them again on the 19th. 

So, here they are. Let's see how I did with them.

May Goals:

1. Continue to heal, rest, get renewed. - Yes, I did this. I had an interesting convo with my doctor who told me that I have a total of six months of healing to do to get to 100%. 

2. Market Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life Anthology - Yes.

3. Prepare for my oldest daughter's high school graduation. - Barely yes. There's still more to do. Thankfully, she's graduating twice - our homeschool co-op does a sweet ceremony (18 grads this year participating), and she'll graduate from the local community college with a diploma and an A.A. degree simultaneously on the 17th of June. 

4. Cheer at my youngest daughter's kayaking race in Canada - oops, no. My husband went and cheered while I stayed home to go to a series of events for a missionary who was visiting our church that weekend. This included a catch-up talk on using the Storytelling Method. 

5. Take care of a pile of paperwork that built up while I've been sick - some. It procreated at some point - I know it.

6. Plant something that likes wet roots - well, no. But, my mom did give me a gerarnium for mother's day and it's surviving in our raised garden bed.

7. Work on either Captain Wrath or The Greenling Chronicles and work out the weird world-building/dryad obsession issues. - Yes. I went with The Greenling Chronicles and thought out themes within the whole dryad idea. 

8. Go barefoot outside at least one day or stomp in puddles (weather permitting) - yes, although I just went barefoot on our deck.

9. Keep reading Cling to God - a great devotional by Lynda Young. - yes!

10. Finish reading Chapter from Chapter - the IWSG Goodreads book of the month. - yes. It's an excellent book on the writing craft and the writing life. 

June Goals: 
1. Heal, renew, walk, and take tiny bike rides. Specific walking goal: get to 2.5 miles a day 5 days a week by the end of the month. Specific bike goal: get to 3 miles a day 3 days a week by the end of the month. (And, take celebratory wandering walks!)

2. Continue to Market Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life and other works. Specifically, to use twitter, facebook groups, and google groups, and plan on attending one writing conference/event over the summer months.

3.  Watch my oldest graduate. Have a party! Celebrate!

4. Go to a Montana State University Registration and Orientation session with my oldest daughter.

5. Watch both daughters race at the Ted Houk Regatta in Seattle.

6. Clean up the yard and house. (as able)

7. Go barefoot.

8. Continue working on The Greenling Chronicles. 

9. Keep reading Cling to God.

10. Sort through job and teaching stuff. Prepare for next fall.

11. Practice Storytelling.

Eleven seems a bit hefty, but I'm hoping that 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 are restful enough to make the others go easier. I can think of several other things I could/should be doing ... but I'm trying to stay focused and not over-do.


Do you have goals for June or for the summer?

Have you read Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life? I highly recommend all the stories by my fellow authors and I'm thankful for all the support we've received! 
Website
Amazon
Books-a-Million
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
iTunes

The Hero Lost Blog Tour is at these sites this week!
May 22 - Christine Rains - Interview 
May 22 - Nick Wilford - Guest Post  
May 24 - Toi Thomas - Interview

And, although it isn't related to goals, I want to simply say RIP Chris Cornell. I liked the sound of Soundgarden. My favorite song was "Spoonman," partly because I've seen the spoonman Artis play at Pike Place Market several times in Seattle and because my grandmother played spoons. She tried to teach me - especially after we watched Artis play spoons - but I didn't have the patience to learn. After Chris Cornell's death, I went on a bit of rabbit trail of reminiscing and ended up discovering that Artis (the spoonman) is still street busking. It feels like story material - all of this - but it's also some of the everyday pathos of life.

Writing Studies and Hero Lost Blog Tour Continues!

As I've been healing up from two surgeries, I've started to study the craft of writing more intentionally,

Chapter after Chapter by Heather Sellers is being discussed at Goodreads (since last week) with the IWSG Goodreads group and I found it to be a great read. I didn't agree with Sellers on all points, but I found that when I disagreed and took notes, I honed my own thoughts on writing to a fine edge. I do love most of the book and agreed with many of her thoughts and tips. I marked with pen and pencil, dog-eared for special places (nearly every page in certain chapters), and I did 70% of the exercises, which is pretty good for me with a writing craft book. I can see applying different exercises at different times in my writing life. While I read this book, I laughed, I thought, I snorted, I shook my head, I almost wept over one part, and I wrote. In short, it was wonderful.

I don't know what the next IWSG Goodreads book will be, but since I already have a copy of Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine, I'm working on that one. I actually started it midway through Chapter after Chapter because I needed a different approach for some of my current WIP. Think to Ink has some fantasy-friendly writing exercises that fit with The Greenling Chronicles (book 1 of a series). Levine's book also has good general writing advice and exercises found in her sections. I'm currently in her section on Character Building (chapters 4-9).

The one part that I keep coming back to from Chapter after Chapter is Chapter 21: Braids. I loved so much of the entire book, but this chapter hit me right in the gut of my current WIP. I needed this chapter and I keep referring back to it as I'm writing. I would love to share the whole chapter, but I know that is wrong, so I'll just give you a few bits here:

"Braided books (or articles or stories) are made up of three or four strands of storyline .... You tell three stories, bit by bit. The juxtapositions lend life and suprise, tension and drama. ... Things stay fresh and lively and manageable."

Oddly, I think I knew this by instinct (from reading) when I wrote Champion in the Darkness, but somehow I forgot it by the time I started writing the last few novels I've attempted. Last year's novel disaster still smarts. I never shared much of it because getting that far in a project and then dumping it is just painful - like an early romance just gone wrong. I think that my best parts of my Captain Wrath WIP include braids, but then somewhere in there, I lost the sense of them and end up with a snarl (fitting for the Captain, but not good for the novel). Although I do want to go back and unsnarl, or at least re-braid Captain, I'm determined to finish The Greenling Chronicles book 1 with a decent braided outline for the rest of the series before I return to the Captain's side.

With Greenling, I have Dunnie, the villain, and the writings of his family and friends. Ray's comics are an important piece but I can't draw so I'm hoping I can find a publisher that will be excited about combining text with comic book pages - at least in a one comic book page every chapter kind of way. I've also been tossing around the idea of including a "science and quest journal" from Dunnie's mom in this first book - she leaves him with his Gran so she can go on a bit of a quest and then she goes missing and leaves her journal behind.

I really want to include different types of imagery and text for this novel. That's one of my big ideas behind it - not a theme, as much as a hope to draw in more visual, artistic readers. I've met a handful of young readers this last year who prefer graphic novels to text novels and I would love to tackle a crossover graphic and textual novel style book for a MG to early YA age group.

Have you ever read a book that contained comic book or graphic novel elements? Am I biting off more than I can chew with my wild crossover idea?

Have you read Chapter after Chapter or another writing craft book lately?

Go Here for the IWSG Goodreads discussion.

Hero Lost - the Blog Tour is happening at these sites this week!
May 22 - Christine Rains - Review 
May 22 - Nick Wilford - Guest Post 
May 24 - Toi Thomas - Interview

Twenty-four Days Book Tour with Jacqui Murray!

My question for Jacqui: 

Is the tech included in the book really possible?

Absolutely. It takes real laws of physics—science in general—and extrapolates intelligently on those to what could be if there was time and money. It follows the model of what is commonly referred to as Star Trek Science. But in the case of Twenty-four Days science, you don’t have to wait centuries. It’ll probably be around in a matter of decades.

You can say you read about it first in Twenty-four Days.

A former SEAL, a brilliant scientist, a love-besotted nerd, and a quirky AI have twenty-four days to stop a terrorist attack. The problems: They don't know what it is, where it is, or who's involved.

What sets this story apart from other thrillers is the edgy science used to build the drama, the creative thinking that unravels the deadly plot, and the sentient artificial intelligence who thinks he's human:

An unlikely team is America's only chance

World-renowned paleoanthropologist, Dr. Zeke Rowe is surprised when a friend from his SEAL past shows up in his Columbia lab and asks for help: Two submarines have been hijacked and Rowe might be the only man who can find them.

At first he refuses, fearing a return to his former life will end a sputtering romance with fellow scientist and love of his life, Kali Delamagente, but when one of his closest friends is killed by the hijackers, he changes his mind. He asks Delamagente for the use of her one-of-a-kind AI Otto who possesses the unique skill of being able to follow anything with a digital trail.

In a matter of hours, Otto finds one of the subs and it is neutralized.

But the second, Otto can’t locate.

Piece by piece, Rowe uncovers a bizarre nexus between Salah Al-Zahrawi--the world’s most dangerous terrorist and a man Rowe thought he had killed a year ago, a North Korean communications satellite America believes is a nuclear-tipped weapon, an ideologue that cares only about revenge, and the USS Bunker Hill (a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser) tasked with supervising the satellite launch.

And a deadline that expires in twenty-four days.

As America teeters on the brink of destruction, Zeke finally realizes that Al-Zahrawi’s goal isn’t nuclear war, but payback against the country that cost him so much.

Kirkus Review:

A blistering pace is set from the beginning: dates open each new chapter/section, generating a countdown that intensifies the title’s time limit. Murray skillfully bounces from scene to scene, handling numerous characters, from hijackers to MI6 special agent Haster. ... A steady tempo and indelible menace form a stirring nautical tale

---

What customers are saying about this series:

One thing I enjoyed about this read is the technical reality Murray created for both the scientific and military aspects of the book. I completely believed the naval and investigatory hierarchy and protocols, as well as the operation inside the sub. I was fascinated by her explanation of Otto's capabilities, the security efforts Kali employs to protect her data, and how she used Otto's data to help Rowe.

---

The research and technical details she included in this book had me in complete awe. A cybervirus is crippling submarines--and as subs sunk to the bottom of the ocean, I found myself having a hard time breathing. It's up to Zeke and Kali to save the entire country using their brains. If you love thrillers, this is definitely one you can't miss!

---

Book information:

Title and author: Twenty-four Days by J. Murray

Genre: Thriller, military thriller

Cover by: Paper and Sage Design 

Available at: Kindle US, Kindle UK, Kindle Canada

Author bio:

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, and the thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and  Twenty-four Days. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer,  a columnist for TeachHUB, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.

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Quote from author:

What sets this series apart from other thrillers is the edgy science used to build the drama, the creative thinking that unravels the deadly plot, and the Naval battle that relies on not just fire power but problem solving to outwit the enemy.

Social Media contacts:

http://twitter.com/worddreams

http://facebook.com/kali.delamagente

http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher

http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray

https://plus.google.com/u/0/102387213454808379775/posts

Have you met Jacqui? Have you read Twenty-Four Days? Do you like books that reveal cool technological possiblities?

And, did you know that the Hero Lost blog tour is in these spots this week:
May 15 - Alex J. Cavanaugh - Interview
May 15 - Juneta Key - Spotlight Post
May 17 - Nicki Elson - Interview
May 19 - Chrys Fey - Guest Post

Plus, the Goodreads IWSG discussion has started for Chapter after Chapter and the interview with Heather Sellers is here.